James Cameron’s Original AVATAR Might NOT Be All That Original

Tell me what book/movie/cartoon series/video game the following synopsis sounds like:

A paraplegic telepathically “connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet.”  The man “revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.”     Hmm, that sounds quite a bit like James Cameron’s much anticipated new sci-fi flick, AVATAR, doesn’t it?  Well, that also describes “Call Me Joe,” a 1957 novella written by Golden Age science fiction writer Poul Anderson.

Thanks to io9 for doing all the research, but it appears the story being told in AVATAR has been told before.  There is no word either from Cameron or 20th Century Fox whether the film was “inspired by” Anderson’s story, but “Call Me Joe” has never been referenced in any interviews anyone surrounding AVATAR has given.

You also have to take into account this image:

That is a cover of a collection of short stories by Anderson that features “Call Me Joe.”  The cat-like, blue creature holding a spear looks somewhat familiar when compared to Cameron’s vision of the N’avi.

You also have to taken into account that this isn’t the first time someone has claimed Cameron’s ORIGINAL work might not have been so original.  Sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison sued Cameron over THE TERMINATOR, which Ellison claimed lifted ideas from two episodes of THE OUTER LIMITS he wrote.  That case was settled out of court, and Ellison now receives an “inspired by” credit on THE TERMINATOR.

You can check out a full synopsis for “Call Me Joe” at Wikipedia and thanks to CHUD for uncovering the fact that in 1978 Poul Anderson wrote a novel called “The Avatar.”